Departments

Working to be the most livable city in the country means placing a high priority on providing excellent customer service. In all 12 municipal departments, our goal is to be responsive, transparent, and accountable.
– Mayor David Bieter

However, in the past two-weeks, officers
on special traffic patrols focusing on seat belt enforcement wrote
2,028 citations for failing to buckle up. The citation carries a
$10 fine.

Enforcement:During the recent campaign,
as with every day traffic stops, failure to wear a seat belt is not
a primary offense in Idaho, per Idaho State Code 49-673. Officers
wrote the 2,000+ citations when they made traffic stops on
motorists who were first suspected of another traffic violation
like speeding or running a red light or stop sign. However, while
the extra seat belt patrols were on the streets, officers also
located one DUI driver and made 3 drug related arrests in addition
to a large variety of additional traffic violations.

Seat Belt use in Idaho: According to the Idaho
Transportation Department's Office of Highway Safety, Idaho
continues to have a large percentage of fatal and serious injury
crashes involving drivers or passengers who are not restrained in a
seat belt.

Between 2008 and 2010, there were 427
fatal crashes and 2,459 serious injury crashes where a motor
vehicle occupant was killed or seriously injured: resulting in 488
fatalities and 3,302 serious injured. Of the 488 occupant
fatalities, 266 or 55% were unrestrained. Of the 3,302 serious
injuries, 994 or 30% were unrestrained. The unrestrained occupants
represent 40% of all of the people killed and 23% of all of the
people seriously injured in traffic crashes from 2008-2010.

The focused campaign may have ended, but Boise Police are on the
streetsevery daylooking for traffic violations, including failure
to wear seat belts. Buckle Up for those you love!